


Stellar

by planterino



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Outertale, F/F, F/M, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Outer Space, Reader Is Not Frisk, Space Shenanigans, Space Stations, Time Travel, whole gang - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-04-29 13:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14473527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planterino/pseuds/planterino
Summary: it's the year 2000X.the humans have conquered other planets after earth crumbled to a barren state at the hands of reckless humanity, living on places like mars. saturn. uranus. only one place is forbidden, and nobody other than the six missing people know why.y/n would be the seventh.there's another world out there in the stars.________ AKA : my take on the AU Outertale





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's a whole other world to discover, and you can't find it without crashing.

 

You stared at the picture. 

White, powdery sand, bordering a huge ocean with hues of blue, with gentle ripping waves.

There was an enormous ship with the name "Angelina" carved into it's side. Its background was a gentle sunset in the sky, colours of red, purple, and orange dripping together on the horizon. A woman stood on the beach in a comical pose, with blonde bleached hair and a fake, bright teethed smile. Aloha! was written across the picture in a vintage, white font, and the photo is heavily filtered 'til you can see line crackling from its sides.

You sighed. 

You'd always find the concept of an ocean particularly beautiful. It was a shame that they didn't really exist anymore, considering how barren earth was in year 20000. Dry land, overgrowth in vegetation amidst famine, extinction in species amidst starvation, everything was a mess. Every person's dream was to obtain their own ship from the IAU [Intergalactic Affairs Union]  and flee to one of the other human inhabited planets. 

It felt... odd to you that humans kept insisting on conquering other planets. You were liking Saturn, actually. It gave you a good map of the stars, and you loved painting out the celestial sphere in your sketchbook. 

The stars. 

Something humans have always obsessed over, even when the species was limited to earth. Whether you were a tiny child or a grown man, the night-sky never fails to be beautiful. They're just balls of gas but the way they twinkle and tinker with your imagination gets people riled up. 

It always raises the question of... What's out there?  

Who's out there? 

No one's found anything or any proof of life, anyways, much to the majority's disappointment. 

A lot of people blamed it on the IAU. There were strict rules and regulations. And it was integrated into every ship-owner. 

Do not. traverse the south-east path. Nobody knew why. Nobody knew what was out there. 

All anybody knew was that there were six people who'd tried to go there before, only to never return. 

You close your eyes, turning the handle bar to shift your ship. You felt the vibration from the engine through your spine, and the glass windows shut as you play a quiet tune on your radio. You watched quietly as you passed outside of the road lit by devices to abruptly turn your shift, ignoring all the blaring "You are out of the Road" and "The Space Station is THIS way" signs.

You set the picture down, staring outside. A small smile set on your lips. It felt good to know that at least when you'd disappear, you'd finally know what was out there. 

You would be the seventh. 

* * *

 The first thing you realize is when you pass the end of the lights, far far away is the huge surge of unnatural energy blasted at you and your ship.

It causes your engine to rev a dying noise, startling you. You watch your ship light up neon red, sending out missile distress signals, but you're far too far from the human inhabited areas to be seen or responded to. 

The second thing you notice is your radio quickly blipping out, being replaced with a horrifying, screeching static, as your ship tries to activate its emergency features, spinning around like a frantic fire.

The third thing you notice is the glass on your ship bursting, including your space helmet. You shudder, letting out a silent shudder. All signals are quickly blipping out. 

Then everything stops. 

Before you can ask how the hell you're able to breathe with everything out in the open, your ship crashes to its finality.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Asterground | Ebott Quadrant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you crash. you live.  
> and with one reckless, determined decision you actually find the biggest shock of your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just noticed how outertale is given love in art but barely its own stand alone fics?? hi im here to counter and fix that !!!  
> of course being an au it still kind of follow UT's original time line with differences,  
> but some things aren't possible on an asteroid belt. 
> 
> also of course there will be my own chosen differences, but i hope you enjoy altogether!

You had done it. You went through the south east path, way off the path and entered the zone called the Ebott Quadrant. Not only that, but you seem to have landed on a really deep moon crater. 

The first thing you notice is that massive bruise on your ankle. You wince, taking in a sharp breath at all the blood. You look at your ship. "Oh, Rigel..." Rigel, the ship that you loved so much ever since you turned 18 that you even named it after your favorite constellation, was a complete, total wreck. Its signal detectors and everything was dead, some of its tech falling falling apart at the slight touch.

Even the new paint job was destroyed, you cringed as you observed the gold and silver scraping off.  You sigh, leaving the ship, only to be dumbfounded. 

"What... What the hell is this place?"

You had first classified it as a moon crater in this quadrant, but it looked more than what it appeared to be. You tried to find the word on the tip of your tongue. 

Mountain? 

No, the was the pointy cone thing with grass. 

You rubbed your temples to find your little knowledge of Earth's terrain. 

"Cavern!" You squealed, letting your voice echo through the darkness that lay behind. A darkness that surprised you, because on the ground was embedded a star. 

You raised an eyebrow, wary. 

It wasn't your typical ball of gas burning, found in the main sequence or something like that. 

It was a star.. literally shaped into a cartoon star. And it had eyes. 

Eyes that bore into you. And a really, really, creepy smile. That if you didn't know any better. Seemed to be getting bigger. 

"Uh. Howdy?" 

You blinked. Did the cute cartoon star seriously just.. Say hello? You waved hesitantly, which only egged the creature on. "Howdy! I'm Twinkly Twinkly! _Twinkly Twinkly_ the Star!" It said giggling, throwing a playful wink. Oh, whatever Y/N. Might as well just roll with the whole sentient star thing. 

"And I'm Y/N! Y/N Y/N the human!" You tease back playfully. You swear you see a twitch in its smile, but it forces out a laugh anyways. "Haha. Very funny. Anyways, golly, you must be so confused!" 

You nod, quickly jumping into your story. "First, I wasn't sure if it was a star system. Then I realized it was an asteroid belt connected to a moon? And then I saw shit like meteors and nebulas and shooting stars all uniting in the quadrant, and first of all, how is that even possible? Like-" "Y/N." 

Twinkly was shooting you a very annoyed glance and you shrugged it off. "You've landed in the Caverns, here in Ebott Quadrant. Us local monsters prefer the term asterground though. Anways, you need a new friend! Out here monsters will try to **k i l l y o u** ." 

The stars color changed from a bright light to a very faded blue, and you step back a bit. "Not me though! Ahaha! I'm your **_friend_** ," it said, stressing the last part as if it wanted to ram it through your thick skull. It's color changed into a bright white, and you felt a painful twinge in your soul like your heart was tugged out. 

"This is your SOUL, your very existence, the culmination of your being." 

Twinkly manages to say this in a oddly chipper voice, and you're suddenly aware of how grave this situation is. You stared at the floating figure in front of your chest. It was a really bright red, pulsing with vibrant color. But there was a gash along it, a scar. "Hoo boy! It's red! _Too bad_ there's a scar," he says, sympathy dripping out like plastic. 

"Hey, why don't I help you out? I'll throw some space rocks and you catch them!" 

Tiny rocks float up from Twinkly, floating around your soul with an odd, ominous goal. You don't really feel like touching it. You shiver, puling your gold and blue sweater down in a futile attempt. You stand there, staring at the star. 

For a second, it looks really confused. Then annoyed. " _Human. I told you. To lunge for it._ " That weird blue color is returning, but you shake your head determinedly. "Look, twinkly pie, something isn't right. Also, refer to me by name." It ignored you, its smile turning into a wide, creepy grin. " ~~ **You were never in control.**~~ " 

The rocks surround you and your soul wavers in its place, cowardly taking on a defensive stance. You shut your eyes. 

_You were already prepared to die when you crash landed, so you'd be fine. Probably._

Thank the stars you'd deleted your internet history before you'd go. 

Thank the stars you were able to take Rigel on one hell of a ride. 

Thank the stars the last song you listened to was Take On Me. 

_.... What the hell is taking so long?_

As if on cue, when your eyes open, the rocks are set aflame by an unknown cause, turning into dust. You see Twinkly's face, paling, and a towering figure over it. 

If someone from your quadrant told you a year ago that you would try to commit suicide via crash landing into the Ebott Quadrant which consisted of several, impossible astronomical phenomena, then you'd survived and meet a homicidal, sentient cartoon star named Twinkly Twinkly that would try to kill you and fail and fianlly a beautiful, goat lady monster with the power of fire would save you, you would have laughed. 

Okay, with how weirdly wired your brain was you might have believed it, but still, that's besides the point. 

"Whoa." 

You gape at the lady before you, who was giving some serious mom-punishment vibes. 

Her goat?? fur looked ridiculously well tamed and conditioned, and she found a way to make ruby eyes look stunning. She wore this beautiful galaxy themed dress, with a cute apron with gold trimmings and this mysterious symbol imprinted. The dress itself was a nice shade of blue, with gold decorations and frills. 

"My child, this vile creature has not hurt you?" Her eyes follow down to your legs, which were horribly gashed up and bleeding thanks to the crash. Her flames crackle brighter at the blood. "No, no. It's from the crash," you sheepishly say, gesturing to your ship. You stop your eyes from welling up at the sight of a torn up Rigel. The lady looks saddened too. 

"Is there anyone here, who can fix it?" You softly said, not wanting to let your memories go down with the ship. You didn't expect to survive the crash so seeing Rigel torn up and you alive like this brought you to shambles. The lady hesitated, before speaking in her unnaturally collected, serene voice. 

"Yes, but...that won't do it any good in the long run. You see child, the crash was likely because you entered the EMM Barrier the humans cast over this Quadrant. I'm afraid you're stuck here." You sigh, letting your faint hopes finally die out like a star turning into a _Black Dwarf._   "EMM?" "Electro-magnetic Magic." 

You throw her a strange look, and she chuckled. "Perhaps we can speak at my house, adult human? It is not ideal to be standing out here in the Caverns." 

You nod, before throwing Rigel a somber look. 

You also mentally fist bump yourself for remembering the word caverns. _Y/N 1, Earth Terrain 0._

Going through the Caverns, you notice how adorable and sweet all those monsters are. What on earth was Twinkly on about? You could finally say his name without laughing. 

Nope, ok that was a lie. Still ridiculous. 

"My dear, please have a hologram device so that I can contact you while I get the groceries." The small device is put into your knapsack, and you're glad you finally have some gizmos and gadgets. Your focus shifts back to Rigel, and you cringe at the memory of its battered engine. 

* * *

 

You keep yourself from moaning at the bliss of Toriel's butterscotch pie. It was probably not the best place to make an inappropriate joke, not with the serious-mom vibes Toriel had through out her lecture. 

"Do you have tea?" You innocently asked her. 

She stiffened, narrowing her eyes before shaking her head. "I am not very fond of it." She simply answered, shutting you up. You twiddle your fingers with the stray yarns of your sweater cuffs, tucking a stray hair behind your ear. "Toriel? I want to see what's out there," you mumbled. 

Her face darkened, but she let out a sigh. "Maybe things will be different now that we have an adult for the last SOUL. But promise me, my child, you will not hurt anyone." You quickly nod, knowing that it was against your whole agenda to even cross the line of pacifism. _You were DETERMINED to do it._  

"Wouldn't dream of it," you said, playing with the stars on your suspenders. "Just promise me, you will never come back. This is a one-way exit." Toriel somberly said, and you noticed the grave underlying tone. You weren't trying to make her life harder. 

When you walk through the grand, blue door, an ominous feeling creeps up over you. You try not to look back at Toriel's slumped, disappointed form, and keep your eyes ahead. **Determined.**

Maybe if that voice in your head said it enough you'd believe it.

* * *

 

The first thing you notice is you're standing very near to falling. Or floating. There's this huge darkness surrounding you on west and east sides, with a glint of faraway constellations and stars. You want to stop to recognize or at least take note of them on your digital sketchpad, there's a place to do that, and it's not now, Y/N.

You're on an asteroid belt. Looking ahead you can see a trail of floating asteroids, leading to a huge, encased land. You take a deep breath, and step on the first asteroid. This wasn't that bad. ~~Just like a mario game.~~ Hopping from one to another. Toriel had explained there was nothing to be afraid of, because oxygen and gravity in this place was modified to suit every monster. 

You take a small jump to the second one. Your leg almost dangles off. "Eeep!" You bite your lip and trudge on. Focus, Y/N.  You keep moving forward, a tiny sliver of hope igniting with each asteroid. You notice in each asteroid of the trail, there is a floating lantern on each side. A lantern with a soft glow and warmth, guiding her like lights. You try to reach for it, but your hand recoils back at a sharp sting.

Okayy. So you can't turn off the lights. Right. 

You keep making your way forward, feeling your state melt into ease. Then you feel the world darken. What? 

At first you chalk it up to fear, but you turn around. There, you notice it. The lights from the very first entrance were shutting off. And you didn't know why. Large thuds of it zapping out get nearer.

You feel the darkness reaching for you. 

*run. 

***Run.**

_*RUN!_  
  


Your legs move after a long time of delay, struggling to keep up after your thoughts. 

Your jumps are erratic, frantic, and sometimes you jump and land wrong, but you can sense a darkness following you from the back and you don't want to risk it.  You jump onto the last, then your heart visibly stops. 

_The next one is way too far for a jump._

At the realization, your heart drops, a pit forming in your stomach.

You don't want to risk testing the gravity state Toriel spoke about. For all you knew, standing in it for more than a couple seconds would result in something dangerous. I mean, she did say no one's seen a human test that notion. 

Your heart is hammering in your chest, and you hear it. 

Footsteps clanking against the ground, in lazy, large strides. 

You consider making a jump for it right now, but monsters deal better with their Grav and you didn't know if that was a risk you were willing to take. 

The footsteps stop, and you can safely estimate there's someone behind you. 

_**"hey."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heheheheh.  
> look what we have here.
> 
>  
> 
> SIDE NOTE: If you want to see what Toriel explained for some context, take a look :
> 
> Her furry paw held you like a guide, a light to reassure you of everything warm. "You want an explanation, correct?" You nodded, heartbeat thrumming in wilding anticipation. She sighed. "I am TORIEL, my child. And this is the story of how my people were locked down, restricted to a fate that involved suffering or murder."
> 
> * * *
> 
>  
> 
> A long time ago, the humans and monsters used to live together in accord- and reign over the heavens, stars, and space.  Both species born on earth, the only way they advanced to high technology was by working together.
> 
> Ships, gadgets, conquering planets, experimentation on astronomical things- it all became common.
> 
> _ Then the war happened.  _
> 
> The humans shook in trepidation and fear, and in blindness trapped the monsters and banished them to a place far, far away. Their seven powerful mages used their skills to trap them in an EMM barrier- a magical barrier that was self sustained electro-magnetism. This effectively made sure-
> 
> Anyone could never fly into the area, unless they wanted system failure over their engines. 
> 
> However, there was once a reckless teenager. 
> 
> A reckless young adult who crash-landed into this starry place, a child taken care of by the King and Queen. 
> 
> Tragedy befell them. They are long gone, Y/N. 
> 
> ...I. I do not wish to talk about this part of the story. All you need to know is you are not the seventh.... You are the eight. 
> 
> To break the EMM Barrier we need the charge of seven souls. As the... first is not an option, you are the last. 
> 
> **You are the last needed.**
> 
> For you see, Y/N, there is a prophecy. A prophecy told once we were trapped here, a prophecy every monster held dear to their SOUL, clutching to any HoPe left. 
> 
>  
> 
> ** _"A human with enough will, resolve, and the strongest soul will find this place. And when they do, the stars' light will change."_ **
> 
> I.. I don't know if you wanna hear this.
> 
> ... 
> 
> You're sure? 
> 
> ... Alright, my child. 
> 
> When a monster dies, they become stardust, and stray around the quadrant for forever.
> 
> They're said to watch over us. 
> 
> And when we leave the underground, they will glow brighter than ever before. 
> 
> However, if someone with the burning rage and hatred towards monsters were to crash here... 
> 
> The lights may as well flicker out. 
> 
> And our cruel king ASGORE... Oh, Asgore...
> 
> He has been blinded by foolishness. 
> 
> There is a law that every human who falls must be captured for their soul. 
> 
> Many monsters are compassionate, but I doubt he has any left of his fragments to forgive. 
> 
> Y/N?
> 
> ...Save him? 
> 
> _You are much too determined to forgive.._
> 
> It may cause you some serious trouble.
> 
> Oh, dear, are you sure you wanted to hear that? I am sure you will do well on your journey. 
> 
> I can feel your soul melody. It's a very compassionate soul, Y/N. 
> 
> Are you scared of walking on the asteroid trail? 
> 
> Oh, don't worry child. Our CORE stabilizes the magic holding up all the phenomena. Gravity and oxygen has been catering to every monster that steps in it vicinity. Though you are a human..
> 
> Please do not fret! I am sure it will be fine.
> 
> .. The pie will be baked soon. It's been awhile since I baked for two. Please don't forget to take a slice with you, too. 
> 
> A final wish? 
> 
> ....
> 
> I see. 
> 
> I will remember that.. 
> 
> Child. 


	3. *mosteo people run away, kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just short but we meet the skelebois!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> personalities will be veryy similar to the UT bros buuut youll notice some changes soon.

Your heart stopped in your chest. You feel your bones tremble at the low timbre speaking to you. 

**"don't you know how to greet a new p a l ? turn around and shake my hand."**

You inhaled a sharp breath. Oh, whatever. Might as well see what the possible perpetrator looked like before you were brutally murdered, right? You turned around quickly before you could regret the decision. 

The atmosphere is too dark for you to see a goddamn thing, except for a rather.. bony hand protruding from the shadows. You gulp, before grabbing it with determination. 

You were not prepared for the sound of a blubbering, wet fart to echo across the cosmos.  

The lantern lights switched on like nothing happened, and you come face to face with a skeleton staring at you with glee, chuckling like it's the funniest joke he's made. 

"heya. the name's sans. sans the skeleton." He nonchalantly introduced himself, shrugging as if he hadn't just tried to scare the shit out of you. You rolled your eyes, looking him up and down with some unbridled sass. "Oh yeah? what gave the last part away?" He sheepishly grinned again, lazily shrugging. 

You quickly study his skull, much more different than the regular human skull. Which you should have expect, you think, mentally slapping yourself. As if Toriel was an actual goat that ate grass and bleated on fours. His eyes... eyes? were two, pitch black voids with a bright pinprick that seemed to function as an iris each. 

He had this oversized cosmo jacket, with gold and silver fluff that sparked a twinge of jealousy in you. So comfy looking, you grumbled to yourself. He also wore a black shirt with words that were covered by the jacket. And other than the lazy blue starred shorts, he was wearing fricking bunny slippers. You cringed, wondering if his feet were cold. Wait, feet? Damnit!

You were not going to spend your adventure here trying to recall BS Biology for the sake of referring to this dude's skeleton parts by the proper names. 

"uh. asteroid rock to human? seeing a skeleton musta scared the carpal out of you." 

You blinked. 

Carpal? Ohhh. So that was what that bone was called.

You snorted, a hand reaching up to stifle your laugh. Upon seeing your reaction, his pinpricks brightened and his grin widened. "Tibia-nest, I'm supposed to be on watch for humans right now. ya know, all that capture for the soul kinda stuff." 

Oh. 

You shifted uncomfortably, getting confused by the mixed haha-i-spooked-you-but-it-was-on-purpose-nah-im-kidding signals he was sending here. He noticed you shift, and shrugged. "don't worry human, i'm too lazy to do any of that stuff." You let out a breath you'd been holding, posture relaxing. 

His grin sharpened again. "now my brother on the other hand, is a different story." You huffed, tired of all these games he was playing on you. "but I'll do you one favor. too scared to see what happens to cross the other rock? lemme lend you a hand." You're surprised by the offer, but you can't say you'll turn it down. "don't worry, take a _leap of faith_."

He literally offers a hand. 

Before you can take it or figure out what to do with it, it  ~~fucking~~ falls off, clanking against the rocky ground. 

You stare at him, mouth gaping. "oops." A blue light flickered over the hand and it returned properly. You can't find the voice in you to laugh, so you just blink. "lemme try that again. here's a _hand_ ," sans says, shrugging. Taking it, you're surprised at how warm his bones are. You feel his phalanges wrap around your fingers, and you're not prepared for the leap he takes. 

**Leap of faith, that ballsy fucker-**

"EEEEEEEEEEPPP!"

He jumps onto the cosmos between the two rocks, but you can feel the gravity reacting to his magic.  You grip onto him tighter, heart beating quicker. He helps you up to the rock, which is connected to a large moon like land. "tadaaa." He said, making jazz hands. You smile weakly, feeling your knees still buckling together out of fear. 

You grip his "arm" tighter, steadying yourself. "ya good, kid?" You nod weakly. "yeah, so all you gotta do is hide behind that conveniently shaped lantern. you can come out when i've explained to paps." Huh. It _was_ conveniently shaped, whaddaya know. You giggle, before crouching to hide yourself. 

_"SAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!"_

Your ears ring at the sudden boisterous noise, and you peek carefully behind the lantern. 

A tall, confident, exuberance bearing skeleton with a large, cosmic flowing cape, wearing a battle suit of blue and gold shimmers. Is this the guy sans was warning her you about? You gulp, suddenly feeling very anxious. You watch sans lazily open an eyesocket, staring at the skeleton with radiating nonchalance. "wassup, bro?" 

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S UP BROTHER! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING RIGHT NOW." 

"i've done a skeleton of work already." "LAZYBONES! I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS DEBAUCHERY OF WORD-PLAY!" The skeleton stares down his younger brother in a look of determination that puts yours to shame. "I, THE GRRRREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BECOME PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD THROUGH HARD, TEDIOUS WORK!" He goes on a spew of rants that are very adorably passionate. It seems you were afraid of the wrong person. 

Sans seems to be staring at him with a fond brotherly look. " _patella_ the truth, bro, with all the _backbone_ you have you'll be a _bone-a-fide_ royal guard in no time." Papyrus rolls his eyes, but he's trying to bite back a smile. "I'LL LET THOSE AWFUL PUNS PASS BECAUSE I AM A FORGIVING BROTHER. NYEH HEH HEH." You stifle a giggle, feeling a warmth take over your souls. These skeletons were a riot. 

"knew you had a _funny bone_ too." Papyrus lets out a god-awful shriek, but sans only slightly seems perturbed, like it was a routine. "by the way paps, look at that lantern. isn't it pretty? might  _brighten_ up your day." Papyrus scoffs at the pun, but scratches at his cranium. "EHH? IGNORING THAT AWFUL STRETCH, WHAT MAKES THE LANTERNS SPECIAL? WE'VE BEEN SEEING AROUND TWO HUNDRED LANTERNS EVERY DAY AND WE'VE BEEN HERE LIKE TWO DECADES." You snort. 

Sans shrugged. "oops, you're right." Papyrus shakes his head disapprovingly, but sans' pinpricks lighten up comically. "but bro. what about behind the huge lantern?" Papyrus raises a non-existent brow. " _THAT_ WOULD BE THE NEVER-ENDING COSMOS AND SPACE IN THE BACKGROUND. I DON'T SEE YOUR POINT." 

The shorter skeleton rolls his pinpricks, but his phalanges move in a jelly like way; you notice his left eye flickers ablaze with azure with a sheen of gold. He flicks the lantern up jerkily but it remains suspended above you. 

The taller skeleton now narrows his eyes at you. You make a shaky smile, throwing him some awkward thumbs-up. "Uhh. Hi. I'm Y/N. Y/N the human." 

~~[You mentally chastise yourself for introducing yourself in a very twinkly-twinkly way. ]~~

_"SANS. SAAAAANS. SAAAAAANS! A HUMAAAAAAAAN!"_

You might have been afraid if not for the fact this was a literal skelebun, and there were bright stars in his eyesockets and a tinge of orange on his cheekbones. "TODAY IS BOTH YOURS AND MY LUCKY DAY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL DELIVER YOU TO THE ROYAL GUARD BUT NOT UNTIL YOU PASS ALL YOUR PUZZLES WITH FLYING COLORS! EVERY! SINGLE! ONE!" 

You looked at sans, sincerely pleading for help to talk yourself out of this one. 

He seems to be collapsed on the ground, snoring, sound asleep as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do. 

You sighed defeatedly, before nodding slowly and carefully. "Sure, Papyrus." You give in, letting his bony fingers drag you skidding through the snow by the wrist. 

As you chance a look back, sans doesn't seem to be asleep at all. He opens an eye to wink at you, throwing you two thumbs up in imitation of you awhile ago. 

You grumble to yourself. "Lazy sack of big bones." 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you dont get the title, osteo - relating to bones.


	4. Starrin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a friendship begins to blossom like a flower :))  
> wait this is a space au  
> a friendship begins to materialize like a protostar
> 
> now _that's_ more like it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a huge part of outertale sans is very very different from his counterparts. all of em. as you will soon realize. btw its my own little headcanon

"AHEM! HUMAN! WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST GREAT PUZZLE, THAT WILL SURELY BE TOO PROFOUND AND A SPECTACLE TO YOUR SMALL HUMAN BRAIN!" 

You blinked. Were you supposed to be offended? "DON'T BE OFFENDED HUMAN! I HAVE NO BRAIN AT ALL!" Oh. You snort, finding the situation ridiculously amusing.

 

A twinkle of mirth dazzles in Papyrus' eyesocket, cape fluttering showing the gold sparkles through the non-existent wind. You gape, but decide not to question it. Every moment with Papyrus was like a badly written fanfic- it happens for the sake of the what-the-fuck factor. 

"HUMAN, I HOPE YOU KNOW YOUR CONSTELLATIONS. BECAUSE THE NEXT PUZZLES... WILL BE SURE TO CON-STALL YOU! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" 

"bro, was that a pun?" Sans is leaning under him, stars in his eyes. 

 

Papyrus turned around, cheekbones dusted orange. "SANS! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE LEGS. SO USE IT. TO WALK." Where the hell did Sans come from? He seemed to have gotten ahead, in any case. He was leaning agains a lantern, giving you a lazy smile. He shrugs, but winks playfully. "sorry bro. can't catch up to your coolness," he repeats, words sounding like he's said them a million times. Papyrus nods, puffing his chest. 

Papyrus snaps a finger, a puzzle rising from the ground. You gasp. As soon as it was there, there were no traces of an orange flare that you definitely saw in his right eye socket. "HUMAN. I HOPE YOU LIKE RIDDLES. BUT THEN AGAIN, WHO DOESN'T LOVE THE CLEVER WORD PLAY THAT GETS YOUR GEARS TURNING?" "just like puns bro." "DEFINITELY NOT!" 

 

You eagerly wait for him, actually sort of determined to get it right. "HUMAN, A MAGIC BARRIER BLOCKS YOU FROM CROSSING THE WAY. THERE IS ONE SPECIFIC SOLUTION THAT WILL SHUT IT DOWN. THE ONLY CLUE YOU GET IS ONE." 

You stare at him, waiting for him to continue. But you here a rustle of rocks, and watch words carve under your feet. You gasp, bending down to read them. 

Unsurprisingly, they're in Papyrus font, you giggle to yourself. 

 

** _"Like a coin they flip, both sides never seen at once. Two faces, different places, like twins on a battleground."_ **

 

You raise an eyebrow, before digging into a pocket, fingers feeling a cold coin you picked up from the ruins. You inspected it, playfully flipping it. Two faces.. Two faces? So two people. Your brain racks for a solution, thinking for a deeper meaning. 

If both sides are never seen at once.. a lightbulb flickers in your brain. Of course! It's twins! Gemini!

You take a shaky breath, and the skeletons watch you unsurely step over the puzzle, forming the Gemini constellation. You feel a rustle of wind, and the bone forcefield was suddenly down. "WOWIE! YOU SEEM TO BE A MATCH FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS' PUZZLES! 

You high-five yourself for not seeming like a bumbling idiot. The next puzzles go especially well. 

* * 

 

But it turns out, talking to your great friend Papyrus who definitely wants to capture you is as tiring as babysitting an inexplicably smart five year old. Your walking turns into trudging.

The shorter skeleton who's been quiet for awhile now suddenly speaks up. "hey, paps. mind if i borrow the human a little bit? just gonna show them around. they look tired. huh? capturing them? let's give them a-rrest first." Papyrus seems to consider this, before brightly nodding. "WELL THEN! HUMAN FRIEND, MY PUZZLES ARE UNBEATABLE! LET MY LAZY BROTHER SHOW YOU AROUND STARRIN!" He says, before making a dramatically heart-stopping exit. 

 

You let out a long sigh. sans laughs. "isn't my brother cool?" You nod, a genuine smile creeping onto your face when you notice how much respect he has for your brother. "Oh, yeah definitely. Too bad, it's evident it's not genes." Sans looks mock offended, feigning a hurt look. "my pants are fine." You narrow your eyes, before rolling them. "For your sake, I'll pretend I never heard that." His laugh is a deep, blue timbre, and it brightens up the mood. 

"So. Starrin. That's the literal town name. Got it." Sans chuckles, but nods. "many monstars find it funny." 

You again pretend he didn't just pun. 

 

"You look up, noticing this is the part where all the stars are collectively gathered like a system, twinkling different colors of blue and red and orange. You gasp. "Oh my god, they are beautiful." 

Sans looks up, pinpricks in his eyes dimming. "really?" You shrug off his serious behavior, letting him whisk you around the town, before you plp yourself onto an empty lot of land. 

"The stars are so pretty." 

You see Sans' eyes darken. "not fond of it." "Really? You seem like a constellation kinda guy. A scorpio, mayhaps." He snorts, eyes dully fixating on the astral phenomena.

"It's hard, buddy, when you see these things every single day."   
  


"the stars become less special and more of a reminder how we're so, so far, light years away from freedom," he whispers. 

You feel a pit in your stomach. "But..." 

"One day you'll look at them as a reminder that you're free," you interject softly. 

You look to your right to find no one there. 

Had he up and left? 

You sighed. 

 

 

 


End file.
